Brought to you by publishers of The Competition Master

November 2014

ATHLETICSIAAF World Athletes of the Year, 2014
Pole vault world record holder Renaud Lavillenie and Olympic shot put champion Valerie Adams have been named World Athletes of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

It marked the first time that field event athletes had won both awards and the first time a male pole vaulter or a female thrower collected the honours.

Frenchman Lavillenie, 28, had set the world record of 6.16 metres in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk in February 2014, breaking Sergei Bubka’s 21-year-old mark. He also won 21 of 22 competitions.

Adams claimed a ninth global title when she retained her world indoor crown in Sopot, Poland. The New Zealander was unbeaten in 2014 and boosted her winning streak to 56 competitions, having not lost since 2010. She was also the only athlete to triumph in all seven IAAF Diamond League fixtures in 2014.

BADMINTONChina Open Super Series
Leading Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal clinched the women’s singles crown. However, her compatriot Kidambi Srikanth grabbed the headlines by pulling off the biggest upset of his career when he beat two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan to win the men’s singles title.

Sindhu wins Macau Open
Two-time World Championship bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu lifted her first title of the season by successfully defending the $120,000 Macau Grand Prix Gold trophy after seeing off Kim Hyo Min of Korea in the women’s singles finals.

CHESSWorld Championship
Magnus Carlsen asserted his supremacy over Viswanathan Anand for the second year in running as the Norwegian retained his World Championship title after defeating the Indian challenger with a 6.5-4.5 scoreline.

CRICKETDuleep Trophy
Central Zone spinners, led by captain Piyush Chawla, weaved magic on a helpful track to steer the team to the Duleep Trophy title with a thrilling nine-run triumph over South Zone.

Virat Kohli becomes quickest to reach 6,000 runs in ODIs
Star batsman Virat Kohli has become the quickest cricketer in history to reach 6000 One-Day International run mark, bettering legendary West Indian Vivian Richards’ record during his 53-run knock in India’s third ODI against Sri Lanka at Hyderabad.

Playing in his 144th match and 136th innings, Kohli reached the milestone with a single off left-arm spinner Chaturanga de Silva in the 39th over at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Richards had needed 156 matches and 141 innings to reach the milestone in 1989.

Kohli, who made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Dambulla in August 2008, is the eighth Indian to have scored 6000 or more runs and 47th overall.

ICC Cricketer of the Year
Australia fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has won the Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for the second time after winning the award in 2009 and was also named the ICC test cricketer of the year. He has matched compatriot Ricky Ponting’s feat of winning the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Cricketer of the Year award twice.

South African A.B. deVilliers won the ICC one-day international cricketer of the year award while England’s Gary Balance was named the ICC emerging cricketer of the year.

India-Sri Lanka ODI Series
Twin centuries by openers Ajinkya Rahane (111) and Shikhar Dhawan (113) helped India register a mammoth 169-run win in the first of the five One-Day Internationals (ODI) against Sri Lanka at the Barabati Stadium, Cuttack.

Ambati Rayudu slammed his maiden hundred as India produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second One-day International at Ahmedabad.

Clinical India notched up another resounding win to humble a hapless Sri Lankan side by six wickets in the third ODI, played at Hyderabad.

In the fourth ODI, played in Kolkata, Rohit Sharma blasted his way into the record books by hitting 264 in 173 deliveries against a hapless Sri Lankan bowling attack. The innings was studded with nine sixes and 33 fours. In doing so he broke Virendra Sehwag’s record of 219 and became the only batsman to have hit a double hundred twice in ODIs. Interestingly the only three batsmen who’ve gone past the magical mark of 200 are Indian. The other two being Virendra Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar. Rohit’s 264 powered India to 404 for five. In reply, Sril lanka could score just 251, giving India an by emphatic 153-run win.

Virat Kohli (139 off 126) played a captain’s knock by taking his side home when the chips were down as India won the 5th and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Ranchi by three wickets to sweep the five-match series.

Pakistan-Australia Test Series
Pakistan crushed Australia by 356 runs in the second and final test to complete a 2-0 series victory in Abu Dhabi. The win also saw them leapfrog England, Sri Lanka and India to rise to number three in test rankings, behind South Africa and Australia. Pakistan captain Misbah was adjudged man-of-the-match for his twin centuries in the match, the second of which equalled Viv Richards’ record for the fastest test century in 56 balls.

Pakistan-New Zealand Test Series
Paceman Trent Boult took four wickets as New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs to win the third and final Test at Sharjah and level the series 1-1. Pakistan had won the first Test in Abu Dhabi by 248 runs. The second Test had ended in a draw.

Australia-South Africa ODI Series
Australia recovered from the setback of Michael Clarke’s early injury and held off a determined counterattack from A.B. de Villiers to win the series-opening limited-overs international against South Africa by 32 runs.

South Africa struck back with a vengeance in the second ODI at Perth, levelling the series with a three-wicket win.

Aaron Finch hit his fifth ODI century to drive the hosts to a 73-run victory over South Africa in Canberra, in the third ODI, and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Steve Smith’s career-best one-day knock helped Australia wrap up a series win over South Africa with a dramatic three-wicket triumph in the fourth ODI at the MCG. Proteas captain AB de Villiers won the toss and scored 91 from 88 balls, underpinning a total of 8 for 267, which looked to be enough when the hosts slumped to 5 for 101 at the halfway point of their chase. But, Smith turned the tables.

Australia scrambled over the line for a two-wicket victory in the fifth ODI to win the series 4-1 and move back to the top of the world ranking.

SNOOKERIBSF World Championship
14-year-old Chinese sensation Yan Bingtao held his nerve against Pakistan’s Muhammad Sajjad, an opponent twice his age, to pull off a thrilling victory and wear the IBSF World Snooker Championship crown.

The teenager, who scored an 8-7 win, also became the youngest ever player to ascend the amateur throne. His compatriot Zhou Yuelong had won the title in 2013, in Latvia, as a 15-year-old. Bingtao’s triumph also ensured the Asian supremacy at the Championship continued for the fifth straight year.

TENNISDavis Cup 2014
Roger Federer produced a vintage performance to seal Switzerland’s maiden Davis Cup title with a 3-1 win over hosts France.